From the author of Stargate: SG-1 - City of the Gods The news is full of global warming speculation. The US government is under attack for its stance on greenhouse emissions yet in the background, away from the camera's eye, the real world is in decay. The Rhesus Factor is fiction, but it is up to the reader to determine just how much so, for all the issues are real the research and outcomes are happening now, yet no one seems to notice or care. Have we really reached the point of no return? Coupled with the latest scientific research conducted by Washington experts, this book is closer to fact than we realise and there is very little we can do to change the future. Marine engineer Kristin Baker advises the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu on environmentally sustainable development projects. After meeting US Navy Commander Nicholas Page, she discovers her unwitting role in the Exodus Project, a scheme to protect the West's interests in the face of global warming. But what neither know is that a stealth virus has quietly become a global pandemic; one that health authorities cannot stop. For this virus hasn't emerged from an African jungle or a remote Chinese province, it's come from within our own DNA. Welcome to The Rhesus Factor. The Rhesus Factor is terrifyingly plausible, for it not only could happen, it is happening. The extraordinary, rapid growth of the Homo sapiens population, coupled with its voracious appetite for planetary dominance and resource consumption, had put every measurable biological and chemical system on earth in a state of imbalance... With nearly 6 billion human beings already crowded onto a planet in 1994 that had been occupied by fewerthan 1.5 billion a century earlier, something had to give. That 'something' was Nature. -Laurie Garrett: The Coming Plague Cause and effect, and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Those principles are commonplace and indisputable. The Rhesus Factor by Sonny Whitelaw demonstrates with painful clarity that we ignore cause and effect at our peril. Perhaps the most frightening book of recent years, Whitelaw's thriller builds an all too plausible scenario of what might happen should our ecosphere decide to apply an equal and opposite reaction to our actions. Fast-paced and grounded in solid research, the book charts not only the breakdown of ecosystems in the wake of global warming, but the breakdown of society that will be an inescapable result. It is precisely in the devastating detail of the wreckage of everyday life that the book is at its most explosive. While Joe Voter may dismiss global warming as a theory that doesn't affect him, the very real prospect of losing home, livelihood, educational facilities and medical care is bound to strike a chord. This potential for far-reaching political impact was only confirmed when a major US publisher refused to go ahead with The Rhesus Factor; opting to take a conservative stance after the controversy surrounding the movie release of The Day After Tomorrow. -Sabine C Bauer, PhD, MA, author of "Trial By Fire"

From the Author of SG1 - CITY OF THE GODS"Humans are no longer one species," Ryl continued, idly rolling the wine in her glass. "Some of us regressed a million years and leaped into a future that might have been, becoming Metas. On Earth, the Rhesus plague deleted a huge chunk of genetic diversity in mankind, taking with it a very special gene. As you reach out to the stars, to explore new worlds, to seek the sanctuary planet, Gaia, you will meet other species and situations that telepaths cannot deal with. A dangerous toy, Dim5 travel, for it opens you to predation. As a small gift to help you on your journey, to warn you when the path to be trodden is perhaps not the safest one, twenty-five men and women from the twentieth century were taken, adjusted slightly and delivered to you. These are the C20s.""Alright, Meta, you called them gifts. Why gift them to us?" Captain Jassom asked."They're early warning devices." The Meta downed the last of her wine, and, meeting his eyes, added grimly, "Believe me, you're going to need them."Welcome to a world where humanity's deadliest enemy is not a plague or warmongering alien species, but an insidious adversary that attacks from within.Welcome to the Ark Ship.The story picks up where The Rhesus Factor left off-in a manner of speaking. It also takes the leap from science 'faction' into science fiction, five hundred years into the future and a humanity that has been lucky enough to have received a helping-alien-hand after the environmental mess we made of Earth. However, while attitudes and awareness of responsibility towards planet and Life Force have changed dramatically, other things-includingpolitical skulduggery-have remained the same. In other words, the stage is set for a power play of staggering proportions that could well alter the fate of the universe. And the stakes get higher yet when it turns out that the major players themselves are mere this time the battle is for mankind's very soul.Sonny Whitelaw's new novel, Ark Ship, is an amazing journey into mankind's future. However, while populating the galaxy with quirky aliens and mysterious human mutations, Whitelaw resists the temptation of turning this into a flight of fancy, and therein lies the true strength of the novel. Plus ce que change, plus ce que reste la mjme chose-the fundamental familiarity of heroes and villains, hopes and desires, joys and grievances is what allows this white-knuckle ride to crawl under your skin. Feisty heroine Avalon Davo firmly anchors the story in our time; more than that, she bridges a five hundred year gap so convincingly that you will come away from this book believing that ark ships, Metas, Masters, and Others not only could be but will be the future.-Dr. Sabine C Bauer, author of Stargate Trial by Fire